Witty Wife, Better Life

Chapter 729: Chapter 719 Arrangement

"Then tell me, why didn’t you go home, but came here instead?" Li Hongjun asked.

Goudan glanced at Li Hongjun, then to his uncle, and hurriedly shifted his gaze away, looking towards his aunt.

"Aunt, I don’t want to go home." Goudan muttered, he was still frightened of his uncle, after all, his aunt seemed more kind and approachable.

"Speak up, what did you say, speak louder." Li Hongjun suddenly shouted.

Goudan was so scared that he blurted out what was on his mind, "I don’t want to go home." After voicing his inner thoughts, Goudan no longer felt as frightened. After catching his breath, he continued, "Aunt, I don’t want to go home with my tail between my legs, and then, I don’t even know how the others will talk about me. I definitely can’t swallow my pride, I’d rather fight someone every other day than that. It’s better for me to try my luck out in the world. I know I’m not very capable, that’s why I came here." He finished, somewhat unable to raise his head.

In his heart, he had some hope, he wouldn’t go home to his uncle’s place. His aunt definitely wouldn’t send him back.

Li Hongjun and his wife exchanged glances, wanting to know each other’s attitude and thoughts about their nephew’s arrival; after all, such a big kid coming to stay is a significant event for any family.

Goudan was already sixteen this year, if they were to keep him here, another two years and he’d be an adult. Then it would involve issues like finding a partner and getting married. If they let him stay today, they as his elders couldn’t just wash their hands of the matter and not care later on.

"You can stay here for a couple of days, wait until I discuss it with your parents and then we’ll talk," Li Hongjun thought for a moment and said.

Goudan was rather carefree, hearing that he could stay, he didn’t care whether it was temporary or permanent. He cheerfully told his aunt about his experiences in the Capital, then went to play with his younger brother and sister after having his fun.

He was a sixteen-year-old child playing with kids that were seven or eight years old, which only shows how innocent he still was.

When night came, they pulled out drawers from the bunk bed, laid out the bedding, and asked Goudan to sleep on the floor in that room. Fascinated by the novelty of the bed, Goudan somersaulted and strutted around for a good while before he finally settled down.

Li Hongjun lay down in bed, contemplating what to do about Goudan’s situation.

"Wife, what do you think about keeping Goudan here?" Li Hongjun ultimately felt compassion for his nephew. If possible, he didn’t want the boy to be a farmer all his life, trapped in that backward place. The most important thing was, although Goudan had many faults, his character wasn’t bad. He was confident that if the boy stayed with him for a while, those bad habits could be corrected.

But now, having his own family, with a wife and children, he couldn’t ignore that. So even though he felt for his nephew, he would still ask his wife, considering her opinion.

As for Shen Yunfang, she didn’t have any particular thoughts about Goudan’s arrival, as she didn’t really have any dislike for Wang Dan’s family.

"I don’t have any objection to this. Goudan is carefree, and I actually quite like that. But we need to make it clear to your older sister-in-law, that we are letting him stay because of the child. We can’t guarantee if he can really stay here for the rest of his life." Whether or not he could stay would depend on if the child was cut out for life here. If Goudan really wasn’t suited for it, then there was nothing she could do. If Wang Dan became unreasonable later on, it would be troublesome.

Li Hongjun nodded in understanding.

"Furthermore, if the child stays here, what are your plans for him?" Shen Yunfang was asking about what work Goudan would do in the future.

The child is coming over, and as his uncle and aunt, they will certainly need to make arrangements for him. He should be studying at this age, but Goudan isn’t one who loves to study, otherwise, he wouldn’t be out working at such a young age. So, they need to find him a suitable job.

"You don’t need to worry about this, I’ll find someone to arrange a temporary job for him to start off with." Li Hongjun had already figured it out.

Shen Yunfang nodded in understanding; her place wasn’t quite right for Goudan. He had run away because he was unwilling to farm at home, so how could he be willing to continue farming at her farm?

Since Li Hongjun had a plan, she decided to leave it to him.

The next morning, Goudan also got up early along with his younger brother and sister. After everyone had finished breakfast, those who needed to go to school went to school, and those who needed to go to work went to work.

"Goudan, your aunt has to go to work. Do you want to stay at home or go to the city for a walk?" Today is Monday, and Shen Yunfang had classes to teach at school.

Goudan didn’t want to stay at home by himself, so he jumped up from the couch and said, "I’ll go wander around the city."

Hearing this, Shen Yunfang picked up her purse and waited for him, "That’s fine. I’m taking the bus to work soon, and we’re along the same route. Take this money, and when you get to the city, buy yourself some decent clothes." She took out thirty yuan from her pocket and handed it to him.

She guessed that Goudan probably didn’t have any money with him, or else he wouldn’t have looked so disheveled when he arrived yesterday.

Goudan certainly didn’t know what "polite" meant; when his aunt handed him money, he just stretched out his hand and took it.

"Also, the last bus from the city to the military zone leaves at six o’clock in the evening. Make sure you get back on time. If you miss it, you’ll have to walk back." Shen Yunfang put on her shoes, slung her bag over her shoulder, opened the door, and walked out, with Goudan following behind, "Here are the keys to the house; keep them safe. If you get bored outside, just come back home. There’s food in the kitchen. If you get hungry, just fix yourself something to eat. I’ll be back by noon to cook."

"Mhm." Goudan took everything in and securely stashed the keys his aunt had given him.

The two of them got on the bus, which jostled and swayed towards the city. When they neared the Agricultural University stop, Shen Yunfang reminded Goudan a few more times before she herself got off the bus to go to work.

Shen Yunfang had become somewhat of a minor celebrity at Agricultural University, thanks to her occasional innovations from the university labs and the experimental project involving intercropping corn with Lingzhi mushrooms. Everyone knew this young teacher who had leased several hundred acres of farmland on the outskirts of the city to run a farm. Some mocked her, but most of the older professors admired and supported such a daring and enterprising young person.

And indeed, being a teacher at the Agricultural University had brought Shen Yunfang many benefits. At the start of this term, she had taken the time to have a heart-to-heart with the department head, honestly discussing her outside ventures and suggesting that if the department ever needed experimental fields, they could turn to her farm, which could serve as the "guinea pig." Of course, she also had a small request: she was quite busy, so she might not be able to devote as much time to teaching. The department head was understanding, and this term, they scheduled her for just two classes a week, all on Mondays, so she didn’t need to come to university for the rest of the week after she had wrapped up her day’s teaching.

Shen Yunfang was very pleased with this arrangement.

"Ah, Teacher Shen, you’re here." Shen Yunfang quickly pulled herself out of her reverie and greeted the approaching teacher.

"The shade netting you ordered a few days ago seems to have arrived; you should go ask in the director’s office."

"Ah, okay, thank you, Teacher Wang." Shen Yunfang thanked the teacher with a smile and hurried off toward the department head’s office.